Srinagar, Jan 9: The government has come under severe criticism for its failure to appoint a permanent Chairman for the J&K Board of School Education (JKBOSE).

The two-year tenure of the former chairman of the JKBOSE expired on January 25, 2025, and since then, the key institution has been rendered without a permanent head.

Amid the delay by the government in appointing a permanent Chairman for the board, the post was manned by the former Financial Commissioner of J&K Higher Education Department (HED) for around a year till he attained superannuation on December 31, 2025.

For the last 10 days, the JKBOSE is without a permanent head, while no arrangement was made to give additional charge of the post to any officer in J&K.

The delay has led to a deferment in the announcement of the class 10th results by the JKBOSE, which was otherwise scheduled to be announced in the first week of January.

The delay by the government has evoked criticism from political leaders and civil society, who castigated the government for ignoring the education sector.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, Apni Party President and former education minister Altaf Bukhari said it was unfortunate that the government was not able to take a decision on the appointment of the Chairman for JKBOSE for the past year.

“It has been one year now since the last chairman completed the term. This is an academic position and should not have become a victim of politics,” Bukhari said.

“If the elected government has any issue in appointing a new chairman or giving additional charge to an IAS officer, saying it is beyond their domain, they can give charge to the Secretary JKBOSE as an interim arrangement,” he said.

Bukhari said that during his tenure as education minister, the Secretary Board was given the charge of Chairman JKBOSE till the new one was appointed.

“We have done it in the past,” Bukhari said.

He said that the delay in the appointment of Chairman JKBOSE was “more than what meets the eye”.

“It is not what we are thinking, but beyond that. If a panel of candidates was finalised last year, why was the process not completed?” he said.

Bukhari said that the delay speaks volumes about the “sheer incompetence and non-seriousness” of the government towards the education sector.

“It seems that education is not a priority for the present elected government. They want to run the education sector on an ad hoc basis like their own government. But education cannot afford to be on an adhoc basis,” he said.

People’s Conference Chairman Sajad Gani Lone said he was not surprised by the situation.

“I am not surprised that they haven’t appointed the Chairman for the JKBOSE. I would be surprised if they had done so on time,” he said.

“This is how the present elected government works. Probably, this government has been elected not to work. Now, it is up to the people to ask themselves what they elected,” Lone said. “It is garbage in, garbage out.”

Chairman J&K Civil Society Forum (JKCSF) Abdul Qayoom Wani condemned the continued failure of the government to appoint a permanent JKBOSE Chairman.

He termed the delay a blatant act of administrative apathy and political callousness, ruining the careers of lakhs of students.

“Keeping JKBOSE headless at a crucial time has paralysed the institution and delayed the declaration of results. The situation has pushed the students and their families into unbearable stress and uncertainty,” Wani said.

He said the students who completed their examinations months ago were waiting for results that would decide their academic future.

“Unfortunately, the government continues to dither over appointments. This is not a procedural lapse but a serious injustice with J&K youth,” Wani said.

He said playing politics over the appointment of the JKBOSE Chairman and keeping such a vital institution headless was nothing short of playing with the future of children.

“Unfortunately, putting students’ careers at risk has become a norm in Kashmir, and this culture of irresponsibility must end immediately,” Wani said.

He said the delay had disrupted academic schedules, admissions, and career planning besides causing immense mental pressure on students.

“Education cannot be held hostage to bureaucratic delays or political interests. Every day of inaction steals time, confidence, and opportunity from our youth,” Wani said.

He appealed to the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to rise above politics and appoint a competent full-time Chairman of JKBOSE.

“The government must ensure the prompt announcement of pending results so that students can finally heave a sigh of relief,” Wani said.

He said the government must understand that silence and delay were also decisions.

“And in this case, the decisions are against students. Accountability must be fixed, and such negligence must never be repeated,” Wani said.

Srinagar, Jan 9: Minister for Education, Sakeena Itoo while showering praise for the teaching community on Friday said that the achievements of children across professions was because of the dedicated mentorship and handholding of their teachers. “If there is any progress made in J&K and if children are making progress in any profession the credit for it goes to the teachers,” Sakeena Itoo said while addressing a gathering in Jammu. She said teachers and doctors were all educated and knowledgeable people and intellectuals who know how to read and write.

“If anyone criticises the government that nothing has been done in the last one year, your silence causes mental torture to us,” she said. She asked the doctors and teachers to raise their voice through their pen and talk about it. No one will catch you on that,” she said. She however said that the government does not want only to be praised for everything but was open to positive criticism as well. “I do not mean that people should praise the government for no reason. But you must acknowledge if the government has done a good job which has made you better or has made J&K,” she said. Referring to the media, Sakeena Itoo said that she gets surprised to go through the media reports of the last six years. “No media person has written about the schools without principals and other heads of the institutions. None of the media persons wrote about the vacant posts of ZEOs and CEOs,” she said. She said the media did not highlight the plight of CPWs who are at the verge of retirement and their children are yearning and houses do not cook food. “I do not say that we are perfect. Everyone has flaws and we can also have flaws. I will not take credit for having done 100 right things. But people should at least appreciate the government for the work it has done in the last one year,” she said.